30 weeks - small baby

[minilemonade]

Hi, my baby is measuring small on growth scans (10th centile) but large with tape measures (50th). I don't feel like I look that big and I'm not really worried as such I was just wondering if anyone knows what will happen in terms of birth if this keeps on, will I be induced etc. Thanks!

Is the baby following the percentile curve it's on, or is the growth slowing/stopped?

What has the midwife said about it?

Measuring along the line for both measurements so small scans and large tape. Midwife seems fine, specialist wants to keep an eye

Im in the same boat. My little one is following the 10th centile.

My consultant told me that as long as the baby follows the line it means she is getting what she needs and I can go onto labour naturally. If she drops however it's a worry as it means the placentas not working as well as it should.

Right okay that makes sense. Thank you for replying :)

I was going to ask for an elective caesarean does anyone know if that will be an issue?

Mine measured on the 9th centile and they were going to induce him at 39wks but he arrived 20mins after they booked the induction.

Apparently the cut off for suggesting induction is the 10th centile so as long as you stay on that curve they'll probably leave you be.

My bump measured off the chart but when they did a growth scan my baby was just below the 10th centile. At the next growth scan she had dropped a few centile lines so they gave me steroid injections and warned me I might be in for an early induction but then her growth picked up slightly so I was monitored closely and induced at 38+5. She was 6lb 7oz when she was born and is still dinky at 9 months so it turns out she is just genetically small despite the fact that I’m average height and my husband is tall. I also had gestational diabetes though and several episodes of reduced movement (turned out to be a short cord) so there were a number of factors which made induction the best option. If your baby is growing along a line and there are no other problems, chances are they’re fine. I wish I’d known I was just gestating a tiddler, I’d have been a lot less stressed!

@ChaoticKate can I ask what symptoms did you have of GD? I've sort of been thinking I might have it because I'm constantly thirsty and have a dry mouth and I'm shattered all the time, but my specialist doesn't seem to see a problem

I was only tested because of how big my bump was measuring and I didn’t have any of the usual risk factors. The one symptom I had was an awful, constant thirst that felt unquenchable, no matter how much I drank. I couldn’t control it through diet alone so was put on metformin and once I started on that the thirst went away.

Thank you! I'll mention it to my midwife and see what she says. Really appreciate the help x

My daughter was on 2nd centile - born at 34 weeks by c section (3lb11), as they told me that was the safest way for a small baby. So I'm guessing they'd be fine with elective c section if that's what you want?

I was told size doesn't matter nearly as much as how many weeks you get to: it's relatively easy to get them putting on weight once they're born, but the further along you are, the better they'll be at breathing independently... and if you're over 30 weeks I think that means you should be fine anyway!

Good luck, hope all goes well!

Thank you! I've got my midwife appointment on Thursday so I'll mention it and see how that goes.